The U.S. Census Bureau released new data from the American Community Survey showing that median monthly costs for homeowners with a mortgage rose to $2,035 in 2024, up from $1,960 in 2023 after adjusting for inflation. This increase of 3.8% outpaced the previous year’s rise of 3.0%. The growth was largely due to higher mortgage and insurance expenses.
“One way we measure housing affordability is based on how much households spend on selected costs such as mortgage payments, insurance, taxes, utilities, and various fees,” said Jacob Fabina, a Census Bureau economist. “In 2024, the median percentage of income householders with a mortgage spent on these costs was 21.4%, which points to an increased burden on homeowners.”
Homeowners in California ($3,001), Hawaii ($2,937), New Jersey ($2,797), Massachusetts ($2,755), and the District of Columbia ($3,181) faced the highest median monthly owner costs.
More than half (59.7%) of owned homes had a monthly mortgage payment in 2024. The number of homes owned outright increased by about 900,000 from the previous year to reach approximately 35 million.
Vermont (8.9%) and New Mexico (8.7%) saw some of the largest increases in homes owned free and clear between 2023 and 2024.
Around one-quarter of homeowners paid condo or homeowners’ association (HOA) fees in 2024—about 21.6 million out of roughly 86.6 million owner-occupied households nationwide. The national median monthly HOA or condo fee stood at $135 but varied depending on whether owners had a mortgage: those with mortgages paid $120 per month while those without paid $184 per month.
The share of homeowners paying these fees differed across states; Nevada (51%), Florida (44%), and Arizona (45%) had the highest proportions reporting such payments. States like Rhode Island (10%), South Dakota (10%), Wisconsin (10%), Maine (8%), and North Dakota (8%) reported among the lowest shares.
Rental housing also became more expensive over this period as median gross rent—including utilities—increased by 2.7% from $1,448 to $1,487 between 2023 and 2024. However, renters continued spending about one-third of their income on housing during this time.
Several states including Delaware, Mississippi, Idaho, Vermont and Alabama experienced notable increases—at least six-and-a-half percentage points—in median gross rent.
Median household income rose in twenty-nine states after accounting for inflation; no significant change was found in twenty-one others plus D.C., while Massachusetts, New Jersey and Maryland reported some of the nation’s highest incomes alongside D.C., which led at $109,707 annually.
Income inequality grew in North Carolina but declined across nine other states during this period.
Poverty rates dropped in thirteen states and Puerto Rico but rose only in North Dakota and D.C.; elsewhere there were no significant changes observed among thirty-six states.
Among large metropolitan areas tracked by census officials: Atlanta; Riverside-San Bernardino; and Tampa all recorded statistically significant declines in poverty rates compared to last year’s survey results.
Health insurance coverage shifted as well: eighteen states plus D.C. saw uninsured rates rise overall while two posted declines; similar trends appeared for working-age adults aged nineteen through sixty-four as well as children under nineteen years old—with most seeing higher uninsured rates compared to last year’s figures.
Further details can be found at data.census.gov where all newly released statistics are available online.
###
